The World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced today a new partnership to support select countries to expand access to essential health services for women and children through results-based financing (RBF) and accelerate progress on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4—reducing child mortality and 5—improving maternal health.

Specifically, this partnership will identify opportunities to enable the inclusion of HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB services in RBF projects funded by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and the World Bank-managed Health Results Innovation Trust Fund (HRITF) focusing on the integration of services; scale up existing RBF programs to cover larger geographical areas for greater reach and impact; and collaborate to ensure a more effective supply chain for essential health commodities to reach the populations most in need.

This partnership follows on World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim’s September 2013 announcement of $700 million in additional results-based financing from IDA for MDGs 4 and 5,as well as the recent Global Fund replenishment.

"Evidence shows that results-based financing has a significant impact – saving lives and expanding access to quality, essential health services for the poorest women and children in developing countries,” says Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group.“The World Bank is pleased to partner with the Global Fund to help countries scale up these successful programs.”

Since 2007, the HRITF has supported 36 RBF programs in 31 countries, committing $404 million of donor funding from the Governments of Norway and the United Kingdom, which is co-financing $1.6 billion from IDA. About 75% of HRITF funding supports programs in sub-Saharan Africa, which bears over half the global burden of maternal mortality. Data from implementing IDA and HRITF-supported programs around the world show that RBF approaches are increasing coverage and quality of key maternal and child health services and also making country health systems more efficient, and more accountable.

“We are working with countries and partners such as the World Bank to accelerate gains in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria," said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Results-based financing is an integral part of our approach of investing for maximum impact.”

The Global Fund has introduced a new funding model designed to make more effective grants, with greater impact, so that more people can benefit from prevention, care and treatment of AIDS, TB and malaria.

The new collaboration will identify opportunities for the scale up of successful RBF programs to increase the geographical coverage of programs as well as expand the package of maternal and child health services.

The Global Fund

The Global Fund is an international financing institution that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria with a 21st century approach: partnership, transparency, constant learning and results-based funding.

Programs supported by the Global Fund in more than 140 countries, as of December 2013, have 6.1 million people on antiretroviral therapy for AIDS, have tested and treated 11.2 million people for TB, and have distributed 360 million insecticide-treated nets to protect families against malaria.

The World Bank Group and Health, Nutrition, and Population

The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world, with the goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Improving health is integral to achieving these goals. The World Bank Group provides financing, state-of-the-art analysis, and policy advice to help countries expand access to quality, affordable health care; protect people from falling into poverty or worsening poverty due to illness; and promote investments in all sectors that form the foundation of healthy societies. The World Bank Group is trustee and a board member of the Global Fund.

The World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria announced today a new partnership to support select countries to expand access to essential health services for women and children through results-based financing RBF and accelerate progress on Millennium Development Goals MDGs 4—reducing child mortality and 5—improving maternal health